I say “soul mate” and “love at first site” are the things childhood dreams are made of, no? In fact, I am long past the prince swooping in on white horse fantasy. I’m 47 years old! But now, once again, I somehow have wound up at the receiving end of my own advice.

A couple of months ago I “met” a man on one of the dating sites I am on. Because he lives in another country, it was a given, of course, that we would be just friends. Sounded good to me.

And because we are so far away, it has allowed us to let our guards down and be. Simply be, just ourselves. There’s no pressure – no risk of, well anything.

We have “talked” about everything from relationships, the weather, what we want out of life, the flu, our parents aging and getting ill, how much fun it is to stay in a hotel – especially on the highest floor, people watching, interior decorating and a host of other things. He is, I think, my heart’s twin on so many levels.

The other day, I opened my mailbox expecting the usual bills. Instead, my mailbox held a treasure from him. I ran my hand over the envelope over and again before I opened it. It seemed to make real that my far away pen pal indeed existed and was not just a figment of my laptop and keyboard and the familiar out loud “You have mail.”

Oh how I delighted in seeing his handwriting for the first time. My heart was overjoyed at this token of caring and friendship.

Uh oh, I may have lost sight of of my firm stance on those so called “Childhood Fantasies.”

Just a few times, I’ve been unable to stop my heart from day dreaming about what could be. What could be if my friend and I lived even a half of world closer to one another? As a matter of fact, one time, he called me out on it but in embarrassment, I told him he was wrong. What if he thought me silly? What if he didn’t day dream sometimes too?

My far away friend taught me a new slant on my life slogan of “everything for a reason” – he taught me the following: “God put you on my path.”

So, I guess the moral of my little story is:

Don’t believe everything your over protective heart whispers to you

But more importantly…

Always remain open just enough to believe in some things you normally consider impossible. For in an instant, they can become possible.

And even if my path is crowded, and of course, nothing more will ever come of it, but if he showed up at my door at this very moment, on bended knee, I have no doubt I would be overjoyed to fall in love with him and take care of him for the rest of my life.